Monday May 16, 2016 14:37

(Kitco News) - Hedge funds took a bigger interest in silver as they increased their bullish bets while increasing their short bets in gold, according to the latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The disaggregated Commitments of Trader report (COT), for the week ending May 10, showed money managers increased their speculative gross long positions in Comex silver futures by 5,720 contracts to 86,732. At the same time, short bets increased by 1,146 contracts to 13,792. The latest data shows the silver market is net long by 72,940 contracts.

Silver’s long bet increased almost 6.7% from the previous week’s level and, according to Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, hit a new record high. He added that the new record in speculative positioning was made despite falling prices.

During the survey period, Comex July silver futures fell 2%, testing support just above $17 an ounce. Hansen noted that a stronger U.S. dollar last week pressured the entire precious metals market lower.

Source:Kitco